- Date posted
- 3y
- User type
- Staff
- Date posted
- 3y
all of this is super common! first of all, pure o is a really common term that people often use when they think they have no compulsions - but there are always some compulsions present even if it's as subtle as avoidance or a mental compulsion which can be sneaky at times. even from what you've written out, it seems like "when my mind is idle" is a trigger for you. from what you mentioned it seems like this is when you end up scanning and checking for particular worries. i would encourage you to put yourself in more idle time type of activities eg driving or showering and nighttime tend to be harder for people . go into these activities with the intention of being mindful and maybe i do have worries maybe i don't but i'm not going to try to figure them out at this time. also think about any other related scenarios that you avoid or have to ritualize through in order to get through.
- Date posted
- 3y
Thank you! This is really helpful, it’s true I avoid moments where I have too much time to think so I’m going to try to be less avoidant. It’s weird I feel like the ERP is helping with the ocd but instead of the ocd I just have this weird nagging feeling, although its definitely better than the ocd loop.
- Date posted
- 3y
Have you ever monitored your mood / thoughts throughout the day before? Tracking these can help identify triggers. I also thought that I didn’t have triggers until I read back through my log.
- Date posted
- 3y
No I haven’t don’t that as I’m just getting started, but I feel like I have these thoughts almost continually for 2 months so there’s absolutely no respite.
- Date posted
- 3y
@William0cd It can be hard to think of exposures when it comes to themes that don’t have visible compulsions. It seems as if you’ve identified some compulsions already. Existentialism is one of my big themes & part of my exposure is leaving sticky notes of my biggest fears (such as my life being a simulation), and not engaging in ruminating. I definitely recommend doing some mood / thought tracking throughout the day as a good starting point. Are you doing ERP on your own?
- Date posted
- 3y
I have my first session this Tuesday with Heidi Vanderlei which I’m excited about, I tried to do erp on my own but I’m not sure I’m doing it correctly - I tried to sit with the thought but the compulsions are so quick in my mind even when you are trying not to do one your brain just gives you a micro reassurance so I’m worried it’s not going to work. How do you track your thoughts, in the app? Sticky notes is a good idea, I could try that!
- Date posted
- 3y
It’s great that you’re going to work with a therapist! She’ll demystify ERP for you! One thing you might learn in therapy is that you can “spoil” compulsions that come up automatically.
Related posts
- Date posted
- 23w
Hey everyone. Just watched a YouTube clip from NOCD and it became clear that ERP appears to be best when your ocd is centered around a theme. Ie germs etc. one thing, not many things The struggle with pure O is that it’s not just one thing, it can be ALL things Is there hope for pure O with ERP ? Love to hear the group’s thoughts
- Date posted
- 19w
One problem - Various themes This is my first post. I had a relapse a few months ago. Life was amazing and then boom, I got triggered by something and started spiralling about my sexuality (having finally been at peace for two years, entered a healthy new relationship and come out of the closet as an older women). How do you, when you're not triggered practice ERP? I'm able to try and accept the thoughts every time I see a man. What should I be doing when I don't encounter these triggers. I was to say as well that I also am starting to get real event OCD about some of the sexual things I did in the past when I was married and in an unhealthy toxic relationship with my ex husband. I am shamed and disgusted and I'm working on it but there's a certain subsection of the LGBTQ community that trigger these thoughts, groinals and thing for me... I feel like I'm beginning to realise I need to maybe be a little more active in my recovery instead of waiting for triggers... But I don't know how
- Date posted
- 17w
So I've been working to address my OCD for about a month now. So far, I haven't been working on it with a therapist and have instead been trying to create my own exposure exercises. The primary obsession I'm working on is the fear that I'm somehow flawed or invalid on a fundamental level. The best way I can describe it it is that its similar to the feeling you get when you have germ OCD and you feel contaminated, except my whole existence and being feels contaminated, so to speak. I've identified a list of triggers, and a list of compulsions (pretty much all mental) that I've noticed myself performing. I started out by doing imaginal exposures and scripts where I'd write out triggering fictional scenarios and read them over and over, combined with mindfulness techniques to focus on my breath and bring myself back to the present when I noticed myself performing compulsions mentally. At first it worked to some extent, but eventually I started to feel like the stories I was writing about this obsession weren't triggering any anxiety anymore or a very low level. So I stopped reading them and focused solely on improving my ability to stay present and identifying compulsions as I perform them, and disengaging. Now, I'm at the point where it seems like my general anxiety levels throughout the day are lower, and the triggers I've identified are producing noticeably less anxiety. But that makes me wonder if somehow I'm just secretly doing mental compulsions without knowing it? Is only a month of rather disorganized and unstructured ERP enough to produce this much improvement? To avoid giving me re-assurance, I'd appreciate if you guys don't directly answer those questions, maybe just provide some possibilities or your own experiences so I can get a better idea of where I'm at. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!
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